Can Stress Cause Digestive Issues?

You might notice that whenever you are stressed, you feel it in your stomach. Everything tightens up and you just get a feeling of dread, or it feels like you have knots. That response is a physical symptom of what is going on emotionally as a reaction to stress.

But not only can you get pain in your stomach, you can get digestive issues, too. That is because the mind and the body are working in tandem with each other. There is an information highway between your brain and your digestive track.

Your digestive system contains neurons and the information sent can be impacted by what you feel that is caused by the stress. Whenever you are upset, your brain is sending out the signals that there’s a problem.

Everything is tightening up and your body is on high alert. Hormones are being released in abundance and you feel the effects. The brain is sending out warnings to your digestive system and it always responds.

When you are feeling the stress, your body gets these signals and can experience physical pain or other issues anywhere – but especially in the gut. Studies have shown that stress is a leading cause in receiving negative reactions from your digestive system.

There are numerous ways your digestive system will react. For example, stress can cause you to develop stomach cramps – the kind of cramps that make you lose your appetite and think you are coming down with something.

You might have been fine before, but then you started feeling anxious because of the stressor and the next thing you know, you’re clutching your stomach. Or you will start to feel bloated or even nauseous.

Stress can cause inflammation in your gastrointestinal system, too. You can develop issues with gas in your digestive system and experience pain from this. Every area of your digestive system can be affected by stress because it can disrupt the normal process.

Your heart beats faster, your blood pressure increases and suddenly, you have indigestion. You feel sick to your stomach. In some cases, if the stress is prolonged, it can lead to episodes of vomiting.

Sometimes, stress can impact your digestive system to the point where it underperforms. When that happens, you can end up with constipation. Other times, it might take your digestive system overperform, and you develop diarrhea.